Diversity and future perspectives of Mediterranean deep-water oyster reefs.

Anthropogenic and climate factors are increasingly affecting the composition and functions of many marine biogenic reefs globally, leading to a decline in associated biodiversity and ecosystem services. Once dominant ecological component, modern oyster reefs in the Mediterranean and Black Sea and the Atlantic Ocean have already been profoundly altered by overharvesting, habitat loss and the introduction of alien species. Far less known are deep-water oyster reefs, which can however form substantial biogenic structures below 30 m depth.

A critical update of Mediterranean chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) with the description of new taxa.

The Mediterranean Sea houses a rather diverse chiton fauna (Mollusca: Polyplacophora). Four are here described as new, all based upon loose valves recovered from biogenic sediments: Leptochiton freiwaldi sp. nov.

Rissoidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Rissooidea) from taphocoenotic assemblages of the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) with the description of two new species.

Twenty-one rissoid species have been found in four bathyal samples from the Strait of Sicily, represented exclusively by empty shells. Some of these species are shallow water dwellers, associated with algal facies, others are typical of deep-sea (bathyal-abyssal). Two species are described as new (Alvania ismar n.

Late Miocene transformation of Mediterranean Sea biodiversity.

Understanding deep-time marine biodiversity change under the combined effects of climate and connectivity changes is fundamental for predicting the impacts of modern climate change in semi-enclosed seas. We quantify the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene [11.63 to 3.

The marine biodiversity impact of the Late Miocene Mediterranean salinity crisis.

Massive salt accumulations, or salt giants, have formed in highly restricted marine basins throughout geological history, but their impact on biodiversity has been only patchily studied. The salt giant in the Mediterranean Sea formed as a result of the restriction of its gateway to the Atlantic during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) 5.97 to 5.